by smiddy 15 Replies latest jw friends
Since they no longer charge for mags at the doors do the publishers carry this cost ?I used to be a literature servant and you never gave away mags unless they were old and out of date to be left at doctors waiting rooms etc. not at peoples homes ,otherwise householders would expect to get them for free. In other words do the publishers pay for the mags and give them away for free? I`ve been out since 1993 and just curious
smiddy
Nobody pays for them upfront. Actually ive never received money from a house holder for any literature ever. I know pioneers then drop off loads of brand new magazines at the begining of the month at doctors offices and other businesses to make there time sheets look like they placed alot of literature when in fact there numbers are just inflated
I used to have the occasional "RV" give me contributions. I used to put them in the WWW box, but as I started waking up I would pocket the cash.
Good morning to all
The official postion as i remember is that "the brothers and sisters now have a privilege to show their love and appreciation to Jehovah for the literature through their voluntary contributions towards the world wide work, the boxes are placed at the literature counters."
Aswell as making sure not to deprive the householfers of an opportunity to contribute at the doors.
So money twice for the same piece of literature.
Twisty
"So money twice for the same piece of literature. ..." Twisty
In theory....
I wonder how often that happens in practice.
As has been stated on this board many times, the Watchtower Corporation and its doomsday message are becoming obsolete... Irrelevant.
So I suspect that they don't receive a significant amount from "worldly" people; it must be coming primarily from the already impoverished rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses...
Smiddy,
The arrangement started in 2000 after GST came into place.
Here in the United Tyranny of Stupidity (formerly the United States of America), the rags were "free" starting in early 1990. They had a discussion that we were expected to donate bountifully for the rags when we picked them up--guilting us into thinking they were very expensive. And then, if a householder donated anything for them, we had to deposit that as well without counting that toward our own donations for the next batch of rags. They insisted that this was not double donating, which it blatantly was. The Washtowel gets two units of donations for a single set of rags.
Ultimately, I rarely bothered. I donated nothing for them out of my own pocket, and I would rarely ask householders for donations. I have seen others getting quite a bit of money, usually a toilet paper for 2 rags (it used to be half a toilet paper for 2 rags when they had to pay for them). But I was not very eager to get money for the rags or to pay for them--I paid for whatever value I got out of them, which was zero.
Additionally, there are too many other ways for the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund to get fattened. You donate for local expenses, and the account gets "too big" (usually around 3,000 toilet papers), and they would bleed it into the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund. They can contribute directly toward the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund, even without picking up anything. And, those a$$embly donations--they would always cut a big fat check toward the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund to create that Sunday afternoon deficit. (And no, those dollar signs are not an attempt to edit anything, but they signify what those big boasting sessions really stand for).
In the end, they wound up getting nothing out of me. They got too much while I was still starting out, but once I realized they were going to welsh on their promises to me, I returned the favor and welshed on my promises to help contribute toward the work. Including a promise to pay 32 toilet papers a month to the new Kingdumb Hell--I signed that first pledge to donate that much, and welshed on it once Jehovah welshed on his promise to provide joy for me.
And, should they ever put a pledge form in my face, I will use OsamaObamaCare against them and file a 1099 form on them for all the time they ask me to waste, all the money they receive or are planning on receiving, and every little favor they get. And, my estimation of the "value" of those favors, with my estimation of inflation, will always be above the 600 toilet papers a year cutoff to get a 1099 form against them--hopefully, the IRS will take care of it from there.
WHAT TWISTY SAID!
They want double the "contribution". But when I go door-knocking (which is very rare) I gladly drop a few dollars (2 or 3) in the box, grab magazines and give them away. I don't ask for "voluntary donations" or anything. I'll read a scripture (a happy one...about the REAL GOOD NEWS) then I tell them "I do have some magazines with me if you're interested. You're free to flip thru them and if you see an article you're interested in, you can have them."
I had a brother say "I noticed you don't ask for the contributions" I told him "Oh, I already took care of it back at the hall. Its on me. Plus I keep in mind the scripture that speaks of christians giving the good news FREELY just as it was given to us."
Even though I'm on my way out...I figure instead of being too rebellious...I'll show them the manner of a TRUE CHRISTIAN now and hope they remember it and wonder about it when I'm finally OUT.
They don't charge a fee for the magazines any more in the u.s.a. They ask for a donation to cover the printing cost. In Other countries they still charge for the magazines like they used to here.
Twisty said,
"...making sure not to deprive the householfers of an opportunity to contribute at the doors."
Oh, that is funny! It is perfect Watchtower thinking!
